Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), Europe’s leading independent nanoelectronics research center, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest contract maker of semiconductors, decided to expand their agreement and collaboratively explore process technologies with 22nm gate size and thinner.

“TSMC strives for innovation through collaboration to provide competitive technology and value to its customers. The expansion of the partnership between IMEC and TSMC underscores TSMC's commitment to increasing R&D for the future,” said Jack Sun, vice president of research and development (R&D) at TSMC.

Under the agreement, TSMC extends its collaboration with IMEC as a core partner which dates back from 2005. Within IMEC’s core partner program the world-leading foundries, IDMs, fabless and fablite companies, and material and equipment suppliers collaborate on research and development, for 22nm and beyond, IC process technologies.

As part of TSMC’s global effort to strongly expand its R&D, including an expansion of research in Europe, TSMC decided to base its European R&D at the IMEC facilities. In this way, TSMC can benefit from IMEC’s state-of-the-art clean room infrastructure which is currently been expanded to house the most advanced often preproduction- semiconductor manufacturing tools, allowing to research technologies ahead of industrial needs. IMEC and its members can benefit from TSMC’s broad-based technology roadmap and platform expertise, customers, suppliers, and ecosystem partners.

“This agreement with TSMC represents an extension of our long-term strategic and fruitful partnership. We are proud that TSMC joins forces with IMEC to strengthen their global R&D. This proves the industrial importance of our semiconductor scaling research. We are confident that IMEC’s joint research model will contribute to TSMC’s approach ‘collaborate to innovate’;” said Luc Van den hove, executive vice president and chief operating officer of IMEC.